Obama invited to Croke Park

Tight schedule of president's flying visit to Ireland means that some counties will be missed out and public speeches are likely to be under attended

P
resident Barack Obama has been invited to speak to a capacity crowd in Croke
Park during his 24-hour visit to Ireland next month. He may instead chose to
address a city-centre venue such as College Green or outside the GPO on
O’Connell Street, because there are doubts as to whether even Obama could
fill the 82,300-seat GAA stadium on a weekday.

The president is expected to fly into Dublin on Monday, May 23, to stay
overnight in the American ambassador’s residence in Phoenix Park, and travel
to Britain the next day.

The Irish government invited Obama to address a rally in Croke Park on Sunday,
May 22, with tickets being made free to the public through an agency such as
Ticketmaster. But government sources indicated yesterday it is now likely
Obama will make a 24-hour visit to Ireland, since he will be travelling to
Deauville, France, on May 26 for